When it comes to staff meetings, we know they can be painful. Whether you are waiting for the same team member to show up on time, listening to complaints with no real solution in sight, or putting unrealistic expectations on yourself as a facilitator, we know that staff meetings don't always accomplish what they should. You may leave staff meetings and ask yourself, "What went wrong?"

Today's guest is Katherine Rankin and she joins the VHMA Manager to Manager Podcast to talk about staff meetings and how to avoid some common problems. Katherine is a CVT and CVPM with over 20 years experience. She started out as a technician and worked her way up to practice manager who is frequently facilitating staff meetings. She offers a lot of great tips on how to manage these staff meetings and how we can utilize the expertise of other team members to help, enter with an open mind, and leverage technology to make sure no one misses a thing.

Show Notes:

[2:09] - For some staff meetings, they can be broken into departments rather than having the entire staff in one at the same time.

[3:45] - Late meetings and especially early meetings are not the best idea.

[4:25] - No matter what, timeliness is an issue for some people on every team.

[6:23] - Meetings need a solid facilitator but we don't train people on how to run them.

[7:46] - Katherine shares how they manage the agenda of a staff meeting.

[9:07] - Is the meeting to air issues and complaints or is the meeting run with the intent of finding a solution?

[10:54] - We can't go into a meeting with the expectation that we have to solve all the problems. That is too much unrealistic responsibility.

[12:45] - Team members should be able to present to the meeting. It is more engaging to listen to varying team members.

[14:43] - In some situations, virtual meetings might work. But they aren't as effective as in-person.

[16:20] - The technology is available and simple to use. Record a meeting for a team member that can't make it.

[17:14] - Katherine shares some of the things that have not been successful in staff meetings.

[18:21] - There is no one-size-fits-all for staff meetings. If something isn't working, change it.

[19:43] - Bringing in representatives from other teams to smaller department meetings can help clear up issues without wasting other peoples' time.

[21:02] - Be open and be able to listen. Be okay with other team members bringing in ideas.

Thank you for listening. Remember you are not in this alone. Visit our website for more resources.

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